Foldable warning triangle for a vehicle

ABSTRACT

A foldable warning triangle for a vehicle is provided which includes an upper panel shaped as the upper half of a triangle; and a lower panel shaped as the lower half of a triangle, the upper panel being rotatably connected to one side of the lower panel via a pivot pin. The foldable warning triangle according to the present invention can be folded such that the triangle can be mounted in a relatively small trunk lid.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application claims priority of Korea patent Application No. 10-2000-0069572, filed on Nov. 22, 2000.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] (a) Field of the Invention

[0003] The present invention relates to a warning triangle for a vehicle, and more particularly, to a foldable warning triangle that can be folded such that it is mounted inside a small-sized trunk lid.

[0004] (b) Description of the Related Art

[0005] A warning device having a triangular appearance has been widely used for a vehicle.

[0006] Generally, on the inside of a trunk lid or the like, a vehicle has an extractably arranged warning triangle for indicating the presence of a broken-down vehicle to following traffic when the trunk is opened.

[0007] As shown in FIG. 1, a conventional warning triangle is provided with three plates 10 and a rear supporter 11. The conventional warning triangle is assembled into an upright position from a collapsed position using the rear support 11. A warning triangle like this has no problem while being used, but it's size makes it difficult to store in a small space; that is, if a length of the trunk lid is shorter than a height of the triangle, the triangle cannot be kept in that trunk lid.

[0008] In recent days, to solve the above problems, a foldable warning triangle (Korea utility model application number 20-2000-004576) has been provided as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

[0009] Referring to FIG. 2, the foldable warning triangle comprises left, right and lower plates 20 provided with reflectors 21 that reflect light; a coupling pin 22 coupling upper ends of the left and right plates together at the apex; and pivot pins 23 pivotally joining ends of the lower plate to lower ends of the left and right plates at lower corners, the pivot pins 23 extending from the lower corners so as to be insertable into holes in connection tabs 26 of a pedestal 24 that supports the plates. The pedestal 24 is provided with protectors 25.

[0010] The coupling pin 22 can be removed so that the ends of the left and right plates at the apex can be separated from each other and the left and right plates can be folded together, as shown in FIG. 3. The above foldable warning triangle can be folded, and therefore the volume of the triangle can be reduced so that it becomes easy to store or carry, but it has such a complicated structure that manufacturing it is both difficult and costly.

[0011] Further, the size of the warning triangle is regulated by various government regulations in many countries, so it is impossible to mount the warning triangle inside a trunk lid with a size smaller than that of the triangle.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0012] The present invention has been made in an effort to solve the above problems. It is an object of the present invention to provide a foldable warning triangle that can be in a folded state while it is mounted inside a small trunk lid, and that can be unfolded into an upright state while it is used on a road when demounted from the trunk lid.

[0013] The foldable warning triangle according to the present invention comprises:

[0014] an upper panel shaped as the upper half of a triangle; and a lower panel shaped as the lower half of a triangle, the upper panel being rotatably connected to one side of the lower panel via a pivot pin.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate an embodiment of the invention, and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention, where:

[0016]FIG. 1 shows a warning triangle according to the prior art;

[0017]FIG. 2 shows another warning triangle of the prior art;

[0018]FIG. 3 shows a folded state of the warning triangle of FIG. 2;

[0019]FIGS. 4a and 4 b respectively are a front perspective view and a rear perspective view of the foldable warning triangle according to the present invention when it is in an upright position;

[0020]FIGS. 5a and 5 b respectively are a front perspective view and a rear perspective view of the foldable warning triangle according to the present invention while it is being folded; and

[0021]FIGS. 6a and 6 b respectively are a front perspective view and a rear perspective view of the foldable warning triangle according to the present invention when it is in a folded state.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0022] Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0023] As shown in FIG. 4a, the foldable warning triangle 30 according to the present invention comprises:

[0024] an upper panel 31 shaped as the upper half of a triangle; and

[0025] a lower panel 32 shaped as the lower half of a triangle, the upper panel 31 being rotatably connected to one side of the lower panel 32 via a pivot pin 33.

[0026] The upper and lower panels are arranged such that the upper panel 31 is located behind the lower panel 32. The upper and lower panel have a section 36 where fluorescent material is painted.

[0027]FIG. 4a shows the foldable warning triangle according to the present invention in which the upper panel 31 is unfolded such that it is in an upright state.

[0028] As shown in FIG. 4b, the upper and lower panels are respectively provided with an elastic stick fixing member 35, and the foldable warning triangle is provided with an elastic stick 34 connecting the two elastic stick fixing members 35. Preferably, the elastic stick 34 can be a bendable resilient stick, such that when the upper panel is in an upright state, the elastic stick 34 provides enough elastic power to sustain the upper panel 31 in that position.

[0029] Furthermore, the foldable warning triangle according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention is provided with a pedestal 37, preferably made up of two plates that are rotatably connected to each other, with protectors 39 at end portions thereof.

[0030] When the foldable warning triangle is used on the road when demounted from the trunk lid, the two plates of the pedestal 37 are made to be cross-shaped as shown in FIG. 4a. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5a, the two plates of the pedestal are made to be overlapped when the foldable warning triangle is mounted inside the trunk lid to reduce the occupying space.

[0031] While the upper panel 31 is being folded, as shown in FIG. 5b, the elastic stick 34 is bent. The elastic stick 34 is then fully extended when the upper panel 31 is completely folded as shown in FIG. 6b.

[0032] The upper panel 31 comprises a grip 38 that has a hole. The grip 38 is used when the upper panel is being folded or unfolded, and the hole is used for hanging the foldable warning triangle.

[0033] A corner of the upper panel 31 in the vicinity of the elastic stick fixing member is, as shown in FIG. 4a, angled such that when the upper panel is folded it doesn't contact the pedestal 37.

[0034] In this configuration, if the upper panel 31 is completely folded as shown in FIG. 6a, the height of the foldable warning triangle is effectively reduced by half.

[0035] While the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the preferred embodiment, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications and/or substitutions can be made thereto without departing from the sprit and scope of the present invention as set forth in the appended claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A foldable warning triangle for a vehicle comprising: an upper panel shaped as an upper half of a triangle; and a lower panel shaped as a lower half of a triangle, the upper panel being rotatably connected to one side of the lower panel via a pivot pin.
 2. The foldable warning triangle of claim 1 wherein the triangle further comprises an elastic stick connecting two elastic stick fixing members respectively formed on the upper and lower panels so that the upper panel is maintained to be in an upright state or in a folded state.
 3. The foldable warning triangle of claim 1 wherein the upper panel comprises a grip.
 4. The foldable warning triangle of claim 1 wherein the two panels are arranged such that the upper panel is located behind the lower panel.
 5. The foldable warning triangle of claim 1 wherein the triangle further comprises a pedestal to which a bottom of the lower panel is fixedly connected.
 6. The foldable warning triangle of claim 5 wherein the pedestal comprises two plates, one plate being fixedly connected to the bottom of the lower panel, and the two plates being rotatably connected to each other. 7, The foldable warning triangle of claim 5 wherein a corner of the upper panel in the vicinity of the elastic stick fixing member of the upper panel is angled such that when the upper panel is folded it doesn't contact the pedestal. 